God help me. 2021 was the worst year of my life! 1/8/21 my father passed away, 4/16/21 found my 16 year old cat dead in living room, Mothers Day 2021 held my mother's hand as she took her last breathe, 9/16/21 had to have vet come to my house and put my other 16 year old cat down. So now I have a 12 year old female that belonged to my uncle. He asked me if I would take her in because he was not feeling well and then he died of cancer. Her name is Lilbit. She weighs 9 lbs. I have one other girl named Jimmie Sue who weighs 21lbs. I don't even need to vacuum because she does it for me. All my cats strictly indoor. I started noticing green snot on the walls and windows. I realized Lilbit was having sneezing. Next her eye started getting goopy bloody like dripping from it. Turns out she had herpes ulcer in her eye. After giving her regular antibiotic eye drops and antibiotic liquid for her sneezing for 3 weeks I took her for recheck. No improvement. The vet then said that he thought the eye was herpes and that she had a broken canine that needed to be pulled and the nose would clear up on its own. Eye cleared up, dental was done and we are now over $3000.Nose has not cleared up. Back to the vet who says I think it is herpes rhinitis. The whole pill thing has been a NIGHTMARE!!! Both liquid and tablet. I was afraid her lungs were filled so $250. to see her lungs are clear. She HAS to have the antiviral tablet. I was successful getting a pill down her throat 3 times. The problem now is she does not trust me. If I proceed near her she runs like hell. I an 59 years old and live alone. I feel like such a failure because I can't do this and have told the vet repeatedly. He told me to get some feliway. Only been 4 days so still hoping it will calm her. I just don't know what to do. My parents left me a special needs trust. I live in Corona, Ca my sister is in charge of it and she lives in Boston, Ma and never had a pet so she does not understand why I keep having all these bills and my cat is still sick. I am still struggling with all the losses. I lived with my mom and dad and disabled brother for 12 years before we had to put my folks in assisted living. All I can say is someone please HELP.
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Pilling my cat
- Thread starter Luvacat2
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Have you tried pill pockets? They are a little cat treat, with a place to hide a pill. Or if she, for instance, would dance the cha-cha for a piece of KFC, you can cut the chicken up, and hide a pill in a small piece. Or cheese, for that matter. Other than that, ask your vet if the medication can be compounded transdermally. If it can, and you have a compounding pharmacy that you can use, it will be made into a gel that is rubbed in the ear. That's the only way I can get meds into my girl at all.
I am very sorry for all your losses and the difficult time you are facing with lilbit being so sick. I hope she feels better soon. I live far away. I am sending you good vibes. In my thoughts and prayers.
Hi
L
Luvacat2
I'm so sorry to hear what an awful year you've had.
One of my semi feral cats needs daily meds for his kidney problems and I can barely handle him at all. Here's what has worked for me:
First of all, taste the pill yourself. You can scratch it with a fingernail and taste it that way. If it's really bitter the best way to hide the taste is with something very strong and fishy.
Marley likes his pills rolled up inside a little dab of cream cheese. I usually make two or three balls of cream cheese and hide the pill in one of them. Let him eat the plain cheese ones first and then offer the one with the pill in. Butter works pretty well, it depends what kind of flavours your cat prefers.
For very bitter pills something like an anchovy paste or piece of kipper might work better.
Try a few things to see what she likes. Don't get upset if she won't take the pill every time. Cats pick up on our stress levels and if you're standing over her worrying about whether she's going to swallow a bit of fish paste or not she's going to avoid it like it's poison. Tell her she's a good girl, offer her a few treats and if there is one thing she seems to love try hiding a pill in that.
Has your vet suggested L-lysine? Some cats with herpes do well with that, but ask your vet what they think. You can buy treats with L-lysine in which are easier to give.
One of my semi feral cats needs daily meds for his kidney problems and I can barely handle him at all. Here's what has worked for me:
First of all, taste the pill yourself. You can scratch it with a fingernail and taste it that way. If it's really bitter the best way to hide the taste is with something very strong and fishy.
Marley likes his pills rolled up inside a little dab of cream cheese. I usually make two or three balls of cream cheese and hide the pill in one of them. Let him eat the plain cheese ones first and then offer the one with the pill in. Butter works pretty well, it depends what kind of flavours your cat prefers.
For very bitter pills something like an anchovy paste or piece of kipper might work better.
Try a few things to see what she likes. Don't get upset if she won't take the pill every time. Cats pick up on our stress levels and if you're standing over her worrying about whether she's going to swallow a bit of fish paste or not she's going to avoid it like it's poison. Tell her she's a good girl, offer her a few treats and if there is one thing she seems to love try hiding a pill in that.
Has your vet suggested L-lysine? Some cats with herpes do well with that, but ask your vet what they think. You can buy treats with L-lysine in which are easier to give.
I am so, so sorry for all that you have had to go through! If your sister doesn't understand the issues with Lilbit, you might try explaining it all to her as best you can, and then remind her that you are taking care of Lilbit in honor of your uncle and you need to continue to do so.
As far as pilling, if the pills can be crushed - or, if the med is a liquid - try mixing it with the 'juice' from human canned tuna (or chicken) in water. I had one med that made Feeby gag and froth/foam at the mouth, but she took it with no issues when mixed with these 'juices'. I would also then give her a piece of the tuna/chicken afterward as a treat. You can also try the tons of lickable treats that are on the market - I have success with these too. Some examples are Tiki Cat Stix, Catit, Squeeze Ups, Temptations, Vitakraft, and Wholehearted. And another thing to try is baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut), for whatever reason most cats love the stuff!
As far as pilling, if the pills can be crushed - or, if the med is a liquid - try mixing it with the 'juice' from human canned tuna (or chicken) in water. I had one med that made Feeby gag and froth/foam at the mouth, but she took it with no issues when mixed with these 'juices'. I would also then give her a piece of the tuna/chicken afterward as a treat. You can also try the tons of lickable treats that are on the market - I have success with these too. Some examples are Tiki Cat Stix, Catit, Squeeze Ups, Temptations, Vitakraft, and Wholehearted. And another thing to try is baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut), for whatever reason most cats love the stuff!
I did this for spooky she’s very weird about pills see if you can get it in liquid form and add it to her food. They gave me gabapentin in liquid form for her I just added to a food and she never knew
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I have to pill my cat every day for the rest of his life, and every 3rd day he gets a second pill. My “trick” is to not feed him breakfast til I’ve got the pill(s) ready. Then I put down the catfood (saying how delicious it is: ”ooooh, yum yum yum!”) and he comes running, I grab him, pill him (after making a fuss about how wonderful and brave he is, with purrs and snuggles). He is very eager to be pilled b/c he knows right after he gets his brekkies. It is such a routine by this point, he almost opens his mouth to get the pill!
So: A. Try to make it a routine. B. Make him realize there is something tasty & rewarding for afters! C. Be sure to tell him what a “gooood kitty he is,” once he’s pilled. If you are not used to pilling a cat, try to get into a calm headspace first if you can, and tell yourself you CAN do this. The calmer you are, the more your cat will trust you.
So: A. Try to make it a routine. B. Make him realize there is something tasty & rewarding for afters! C. Be sure to tell him what a “gooood kitty he is,” once he’s pilled. If you are not used to pilling a cat, try to get into a calm headspace first if you can, and tell yourself you CAN do this. The calmer you are, the more your cat will trust you.
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Try this paste. It has been a lifesaver for me Giving my cat amitriptylline pills every day which are bitter. You take a pinch of this paste, ball it around the pill and they eat it like a treat. I gave my cat some without the pill first to see if she liked the flavor and to get her to see it as a treat. You can buy off Amazon.
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How’s the pilling of the cat going?
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Hi Luvacat2, I am not sure if you're still active or will get a notification...but hope you do. I have a 17 y.o. sweet cat with the same symptoms you describe in Lilbit. It took us 3 years to get the poor girl diagnosed properly because we first went to a couple of vets who treat both cats and dogs and they both thought Mims had herpes. We went through 2-3 rounds of antibiotics....and while her eye would stop weeping gunk, the nose was still fully "locked and loaded". The worst thing about the meds (other than giving them for a long time) was that she developed ileus (her gut stopped moving/low peristalsis). Luckily, we got past that....We then took her to a cat specialist, and (similar to something you mentioned) found that one of her upper canines had resorbed root and needed to be removed....along with other teeth (we'd had no idea- no other vet had noticed). From my experience (and given that the other prescriptions had failed to resolve the issue), I asked if it might be an oronasal fistula (these are somewhat rare, but they should be investigated during dentals- some are visible without having to prod around though). IMO, I think they're more common than people think- but are missed during most exams (unless someone is actually looking for them- most vets I've encountered don't).
An oronasal fistula is essentially a small (or tiny, in some cases) opening between the palate of the mouth and the nasal cavity. They most often are found near the upper canine teeth. Food will get into the nasal cavity, causing nasal discharge and sometimes then cause a goopy eye in the same side as the fistula.
Here's how we treat Mims- she first had "flap" surgery, where the vet uses a piece of mucous membrane (inner lining of mouth, or other) to graft/put a flap of skin over the "hole". We did 2 rounds of this, and both failed within a year of surgery.
Now, we treat it with Terramycin ointment- no GI upset because it goes into the eye on the side with the fistula. If you already know which side the snot launches from, that is the side the ointment would go in. We ONLY use when she has symptoms, and once the eye and nose are clear (typically within 7-10d), we don't use the ointment until there's another flare.
You can buy Terramycin for cats on Amazon or at some farm supply companies. It's great for goopy eyes.
Of course, you need to visit a cats- only vet to verify that there's a fistula prior to getting the ointment.
Believe me, everyone's life will get better if the diagnosis is 100% accurate- herpes is seemingly diagnosed in cats with no diagnostic tests done (ie, lab work).
My fingers are crossed that you have either figured out exactly what will help your cat or that this is the same as what my Mims had. I have taken in/taken care of special needs kitties for the past 30 years, and my background is medical (lab/pharmacy/critical care), albeit for humans.
